The Secret of Aspirin in Laundry: A Tradition Passed Down

After my mother-in-law passed away, I took on the responsibility of helping my father-in-law with household chores, including laundry. One thing that caught my attention was his insistence on adding aspirin to the washing machine every time I did the laundry. At first, I thought it was an unusual request, but when I asked him why, he simply replied, “That’s how my wife used to do it.” This piqued my curiosity, and I decided to delve into the science behind this practice. What exactly does aspirin do in the laundry, and is it a useful hack or just an old wives’ tale?